Helix Water District says fluoridation to continue

LA MESA: The Helix Water District board voted yesterday to continue fluoridating the district’s water after it ran out of grant money to pay for the process.

Helix began fluoridating its water in December 2007, at the same time that the Metropolitan Water District began fluoridating the treated water it supplies to San Diego County. The East County district was required to begin fluoridation after the state Department of Public Health and the California Dental Association Foundation provided $441,600 to install and operate the fluoridation process until the end of May.

Dentists and advocates for fluoridation told board members yesterday that it is an effective way to prevent cavities, while opponents of the process said it is unsafe and causes numerous ailments.

It will cost the Helix district $155,000 to provide fluoridation for a year, but district officials said $31,000 will be recovered from water sales to the Otay Water District and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. The district will also save about $25,000 because it will not have to notify physicians and dentists, which it is required to do if it ends fluoridation. –A.K.